Crooked Love
by The Swordslinger
Summary: Upon arriving in a new world with the last of her strength to save her son, Kushina Uzumaki begs a woman to protect her son. Unfortunately for the people of New Meridian, it is the dark bloody diva who will take the child as her own. Eliza will find the dark joys of being a mother as she takes care of a wonderful boy while molding him into a proper emperor and equal to her.
1. Chapter 1

I OWN NOTHING

If anyone's wondering why I did this, The Lord Of Pages and I have an odd fascination with Eliza due to her pure evil being her own entertainment.

**-0-**

Winter winds hit New Meridian just right, bringing with them the chill of the sea, the promise of freezing rain and occasional snow. The latter was the result of one such cold wind. Sitting outside, wrapped in a heavy fur coat, a beautiful woman sat on a deckchair over the wharves. The woman had dusky skin, a pair of magnificently sized breasts, a head of black hair worn in a bob, and although the fur coat didn't show it, she wore an exquisite black dress with ornate golden components.

She hummed a song to herself as she watched the waves wash over the wharf, "Hmmhmm... hmm…hmm~" Music remained one of her few pleasures in life which hadn't soured over so many years of her existence, another was watching the ocean. A fascination with the water, so different to her home country, consumed her at times. And she wished to see all there was to see in the depths of the ocean.

"Boss," a man spoke to her, walking through the night air to stare at the ocean briefly. "There's something you might care to see."

She turned her blue eyes to him with an unamused expression until she saw his serious look, "Hmph. What requires my attention in the middle of my dinner? The food will grow cold if I do not partake of it, Horace." Enjoying a simple candle lit dinner of delicious grilled fish, a rich salad with plenty of dressing, and a glass of pure red wine along with a fine vanilla ice cream with two scoops for dessert was another little pleasure.

"I apologize, boss, but Albus and I found…someone. They have washed up on the shore." The man was trying to be convincing, but the woman looked dismissive of his words, rolling her eyes at his sentimentality. Between her servants, Horace had more of a bleeding heart than Albus.

She took a sip of her wine, choosing her words with as much succinct venom as she could, "And they should bother me, why? Call a hospital or alert the constables as to their location if you truly wish to save them, let that be the end of it for this night."

"They are Dragon Empire citizens, boss. And it is a mother and her infant son."

Her fork paused in its clinking against the plate, her eyes slide over to the bird-headed man, blue eyes narrowing sharply, "Take me to them… And put my dinner in a Tupperware container, I'll have it when I get home," she sighed, getting up and walking after Horace after he had finished putting away her food and placed it in a basket.

At the rocky beach shore, she saw what she had came out for. Another man watched over a drenched woman clutching a baby in hand, blood pouring from wounds over her body and a soft light burning over the child's abdomen. The mistress caught sight of an intricate seal and her pace quickened, her interest spiking intensely. She stopped in front of the woman, taking in her distinctly foreign features which clashed with her head of ragged and sodden wet hair, which even in the dark was a fiery red. The child she clutched so protectively on the other hand had blond hair and a set of whiskers on his cheeks, indicating his true nature.

"Greetings." Eliza stepped towards the woman who tensed weakly, unable to do anything but stare at her.

She spoke in a foreign accent that Eliza sighed mentally at since it was in an archaic form of Dragon Empire, "_Who are you!? Where am…I? What do you want?_"

Eliza answered in the same language, her tone being a bit more imposing and dominant when she spoke, "_I am called Eliza, you are within the shores of the Canopy Kingdom, specifically the capital city New Meridian. And I want to help you. You are dying, are you not?_"

The woman clutched her child with a faltering grip, staring at the woman despondently, "_Yes…I haven't much time… Not since that fool…my bastard husband sealed the Kyuubi No Kitsune, the Demon Fox, into our son…cursing him with a fate he did not ask for… Ever since it was removed, my body has been dying on me… The bastard who attacked our village remains at large…and here I am…I came from the Elemental Nations… I know nothing of this land or its people._"

Eliza's mind went through several quick ruminations. Not a single location she had been to had ever been called what the woman said was her home. Which meant, her lips twisted behind the collar, a world traveler. Impossibly rare beings who could cross the dimensional void and go to a different location. The Elemental Nations must then be one such dimension separated to her own.

Somehow the mother had made her way to their shores by will alone. The will of a dying mother to protect her beloved son from all who would seek to harm him. However, the important part to Eliza was what she was carrying, a demon vessel. After years of trying to make one for herself, and what she wanted for centuries after discovering their existence…one just fell into her lap.

A successful one.

Which was why she was sincere as she bent down in a crouch, "_Do you wish me to take care of him? You have no other choice, in this cold winter night, he will die of exposure. I can raise him as my own. I'm a wealthy and very popular socialite. I may not know of his past or your own, but I can easily take care of him and teach him the ways of this world. Perhaps even give him his heritage._"

She had ulterior motives, so her desire to raise the child was genuine, "_I only wish for him...to have a good, healthy life_."

In a twisted manner of speaking, Eliza could grow to love the boy as her own flesh and blood by making him useful to her goals, "_And he will, you have my word._" A hesitant second later, the mother stared at her emptily…until she shakily handed Eliza the child. The woman nodded at Albus who helped drag the red-haired mother onto the shore, pulling her to a peaceful patch of soil and grass with flowers nearby. Horace held a bottle of water to the mother's lips as the woman's breathing shallowed out.

"_Thank you..._" the mother whispered.

"_Your name? So that we may mark your grave, he will see it in time, I promise you." _Eliza rarely did such charity or philanthropy for free, she hated the very notion of both, but she needed to sell the woman that she was a good choice to leave her son to. Thus, she made the mother think she would her grant the honor of bearing a marked grave and a peaceful rest as a show of respect.

"_Kushina. Uzumaki Kushina. My son is… Namikaze Naruto. But…do not tell him that. I do not want him to bear the name of the fool who cursed his life… Call him Uzumaki Naruto. He is…my son…_" The woman's breathing begun to slow.

Eliza held Naruto in her embrace. The salty air brought with it the feeling of sanctuary for the weakened woman. She was at peace. Happy that her son would be taken care of and he would know a better life than the one he might've led in their village. Eliza watched her breathing slow down, frowning out of a distinct stirring of pity. She hated such meaningless sympathy, even if the woman deserved it.

Horace and Albus gently lifted the mother before their mistress, and Eliza held out a hand. A line of blood extended from it and formed a solid sarcophagus over the woman's body, sealing it in a preserving cage. The special crimson bindings would not tarnish the woman's beauty. She turned around, a wicked grin spreading on her face as the woman's body was kept in stasis and her son rested in Eliza's arms.

Holding out a gentle dusky finger, she touched the happily gurgling infant's cheeks, one eye turning a harsh yellow and black as her cheeks split in utter delight, "**Finally…! After five centuries, I now possess a Demon vessel to mold as my own! What a delight, what an utter deli-hm?**" Naruto was sucking on her finger peacefully, the cheeks resealed up, and her eye became normal as she stared at the blond baby.

"Gah..." he cooed happily as she pulled out her finger and let him take it back in with his strong baby hands.

"…Hm, I suppose…he'll be a better son than a servant…He is adorable, after all~" She lifted the child to nestle him against the crook of her neck, "Being a mother might be hard work… But I'll take to it with pleasure. We will raise him to be the perfect son. Uzumaki Naruto. If only I could grant you the honor of harboring my true name… I'll refer you to it in private. Uzumaki Neferu Naruto. I love the ring of that name~!"

"Boss, what do we do with the lady?" Albus asked the woman while he and Horace held the blood sarcophagus.

"Keep her alive, obviously, what she can teach us of her world and this child will prove useful...**in making him a worthy son and guardian.**" Her face peeled back, revealing her true face, a skull with feline features. Naruto merely cooed oblivious of the horror, getting her to coo at him, "**Who shall be a proper killing machine for mommy? You will be, oh yes you will, Naruto!**"

"She's gonna spoil that child rotten." Albus said dully.

"Oh, absolutely." Horace agreed.

And so, Naruto would grow under Eliza's care, and 10 years later, he'd be quite something... A star in his own right.

**-0-**

Baseball was a popular sport in New Meridian. Regardless of how boring it was to watch and even play it for outsiders, the strategy and tension to it as well as the skill were nothing to sneeze at. People into it often used katanas or other such swords from the Dragon Kingdom to practice their swing with a bat. Parents liked sports where their kids wouldn't be hurt too badly and looked cute. Mothers loved to smother the boy or girl who'd practice the sport if they won or got them food from the stands to cheer them up if they lost. Fathers got a natural sense of pride seeing their little ones do their best and bring home a big trophy.

Stadiums were packed on weekends like the one where a portly announcer smiled, "Folks, it appears that the Lucky Foxes are true to their name! What other group of kids could've turned around this season?" His co-host didn't look as happy, though, "Mr. Vitale, I assume you're not going to be as gleeful with that."

A fat man with glasses, an expensive suit and his hair combed back spoke coldly and meticulously, "Not at all." He lied professionally, "Seeing children do their best is what we're here for. After all, my father and I grew up watching sports like this."

"Still, it must sting seeing the Sucre Boys lose to these newbies." The announcer got on his nerves, but the mafioso had to keep a façade.

"It's all in good fun, after all. Although, I'd chalk it up to that new kid they've scouted." Vitale narrowed his eyes at the kid on the plate.

"Hey, Naruto, put your helmet on!" the coach hollered to a blond boy. The child had a blond mop of hair which went down to his chin, sun-kissed skin, cobalt eyes, and three birthmarks on each cheek which added a foxy appearance to his face by resembling whiskers. Slim, fit and rather energetic, he looked like a normal child, although two odd hair tufts akin to fox ears popped atop his head would've made people mistake him for one of the rare animal people in the city.

"It's fine, I do better without it." Naruto replied and held up his bat. He was clad in a Lucky Foxes baseball uniform, a dark orange shirt with a long-sleeved black t-shirt under it, white pants with black socks over the ankles, and black shoes. He tilted up his dark orange baseball cap to cover his eyes from the morning sun and smiled at the pitcher.

Giving it his all, he twisted his hips and with an echoing crack sent the ball flying, "And that's his fifth homerun of the day!" the announcer cheered beside a stoic Vitale. "That's Naruto Uzumaki, ladies and gents, a boy who has come out of nowhere to rock the baseball world! We've got a future star here! The strength, skill and precision of a grown pro in the body of a ten-year-old!"

Unhappy with the way the game ended, Vitale made a few calls as he approached his limousine, "Yes...he's in the stadium. Just wait for him to be alone. No, no need for it, unless he is foolish enough to refuse such a profitable offer." He hung up and leaned on his seat, watching the people leave while the winners celebrated in a ring-shaped group hug, jumping and yelling in joy.

Celebrations were planned by parents who took their kids elsewhere while Naruto remained alone at the stadium, "Back home, I guess." He sighed deeply and slung a duffle bag with his uniform over his shoulder, clad in an orange shirt and white shorts. "Curfews suck..." he groaned as he rolled up his sleeves, buttoned his shirt, and adjusted his cap.

Reaching the exit, he was approached by two men in suits, "Hey little boy, come here for a second." Said one, holding a crowbar behind his back. "Our boss saw you play and-"

"I must get home before curfew." Naruto said without paying any attention to the strangers like any good little boy should.

"Why you..." the obvious gangster growled.

"Calm down, Vinny," his partner said with a soft smile and tried his charm. "Very wise, kid, very wise indeed. We are here on behalf of our boss to sponsor you. He thinks you have what it takes to make it big... And I mean filthy rich big." He tried to bait the child with promises of goodies while his partner looked around for anyone who could approach them.

Exasperation was all he got, "I need to get home." Naruto replied with clear annoyance as he pulled out a baseball from his bag and tossed it into the air.

"Little" was the last word the first mafioso said before Naruto pulled out his bat and swung, hitting the first thug with such brute force he broke his jaw...and tore it off! His partner let out a strangled yelp of fear at the sight of the other mafioso's lower jaw hanging limply from strands of flesh. Unable to say or do anything, the charmer turned to run off, but the boy was fast and lunged at him. Jumping across five yards in the blink of an eye, the preteen batter held his weapon with cold eyes and swung again. Blunt objects and brute force could do as much or if not more damage than swords, and his caved in a grown man's skull.

Disgust, surprise and cynicism talked to him, "Sheesh, not bad, but you could be cleaner, kid!" said a tall beast-man. He was towering, muscular with his white suit bulging, and pectorals marking his blood red shirt which had a tie as black as his fur. A jackal's head with white dreadlocks pulled back into a ponytail sneered at the carnage while the boy slung his bat over his shoulder.

"It's not as if the boss taught him less than efficiency in ending lives," replied another beast-man in a black suit with a blue shirt, a white tie, and circular glasses. He was as tall as his partner, equally buff and with a larger, rounder stomach showing. He was also a hawk with a single feather sticking out atop his head and a black fez with a blue feather. Gently pushing his glasses with a finger, he held a hand out to the boy.

Splattered droplets of blood coated the kid's cheek as he handed the hawk man his bag, "Thanks, Horace, how's mom?" the boy asked them as if nothing happened despite the blood on his face.

"She's waiting for you at the limousine, Naruto." Horace replied.

"And she's glad you did good at the game, but now..." the other beast-man said with a paper bag full of popcorn in one hand which he handed the boy, "Here, let us clean up. Go say hi to the boss already. She just wants to smother you more than she cares eating."

"Hehe, sorry Albus, but I know she likes her blood fresh." Naruto told him and handed him the bat.

Outside the hall was an underground parking lot where a limousine waited with a door opened, "Young sir." Naruto was greeted by a third towering beast-man, an alligator. He was even burlier than Horace and a tad more muscular than Albus, wore a gray suit with a yellow shirt and an orange tie. His pants had a hole for his tail. Atop his head was a simple white cowboy hat with a black lace adorned with crocodile teeth.

"Hello Becker," Naruto said as he neared the car. "Did mom like the game?"

"Loved it," the crocodile man replied shortly and curtly with a nod.

Peeking into the limousine, the child grew disappointed, "Where is she, then?"

"Home," the scaled beast-man answered.

"Wait, I thought she'd come see me at and after the game?"

"Busy," Becker motioned for him to go inside as a figure waved.

Cold, icy words greeted him, "Hello, young master." Naruto saw a fourth beast-person, a female with a cat head. She had a pair of rectangular reading glasses adjusted for her snout, a coal black coat of fur, and the secretary look nailed down. Beige short business skirt and jacket with white high-heels and a gray blouse with the two top buttons undone, revealing a large DD-cup. She had child-bearing hips and no emotion to her face other than stoicism. Currently, she was writing on a notepad while a phone was held to her ear with her shoulder.

"Where's mom, Beth?" he questioned her impatiently once seated, kicking his feet back and forth like any child.

Ending the call, the cat woman looked at her notes and scribbled in the middle of her answer, "Apparently, a connection of the boss' has a mission for her, young master. She does want you to know how proud she is of your latest victory and that she found you, and I quote, utterly adorable in your uniform."

"Aye," Becker said as he took the wheel.

"She is also grateful for the meal you granted her," Beth continued, pocketing her notepad and stylized fountain pen with a sphinx's head atop. "However, she mentioned that you should wait for any of us should another person try to contact you. Had you been seen-"

"I wasn't!" Naruto exclaimed, gripping the edge of his seat tightly.

Unaffected by his outburst, Beth continued as coldly as before, "-she could have been compromised, possibly allowing an enemy of the boss' to blackmail her."

"What?" he asked in shock.

"She is currently meeting an ally which could do so," Beth continued. "The boss trusts you to keep her safe, but if you are reckless..."

Deep hatred burnt in the child as his eyes morphed into a color-swapped version, pitch-black sclerae with red irises, "You'd only need to tell me who I need to hit."

Allowing herself a small smile, Beth responded with the same emotionless coolly voiced tone, "A man by the name of Vitale, but in due time. For now, be happy making her proud in your games."

"I want to help her!" Naruto argued.

Knowing his love for his mother, Beth killed her smile, "Albus and Horace shall suffice as assistance until you grow into a more mature body, young master. She is trusting you and us to protect her from those that could attack her in more personal ways by making you stronger. Please, be patient and your day will come."

"Indeed," Becker answered with a nod as he waited for Naruto to calm down before driving off.

"...fine..." the boy pouted, his eyes returning to normal. "For mom."

"Good. Now, hit it." Beth told the gator man, who nodded again and finally started the engine.

**-0-**

Bathhouses were one of many commodities Eliza allowed herself. Enjoying a dip in the hot waters was her thing whereas Naruto sat at the edge of the luxurious Egyptian themed pool. Feet were a human's weak spot after long day of hard work, placing them in the soothing warmth made him sigh. Patience wasn't a child's main virtue, but he did his best to wait for Eliza. Cartoons were played on a TV in front of him.

"Young master, perhaps you should take off your uniform, not just your shoes and socks." Beth said with a light twitch of her ear and a good distance from the pool.

"It'll be fine, I rolled up my pants' legs and Becker's here to make sure I don't fall into the water." True to his words, the crocodile man was placidly swimming in the water with his eyes and snout over the surface. Silence was the alligator's reply to the child's words, so Naruto kept watching his favorite cartoon, "Besides, Jerry's about to get Tom good now."

"Please, sir, we are living tools tasked with your well-being." Beth told him, "Believe me when I say we only desire your safety and good health."

"Fine..." pulling out his feet and wiggling his toes, the boy sat cross-legged on a couch and kept waiting, "I still want to bathe with mom."

"Understood, but you are covered in sweat and your uniform is in need of washing." Beth countered coolly.

"...Mom always bathes with me, though..." he argued weakly like any child would. "Can you guys look away, then?"

"Sure." Becker replied and leapt out of the water, revealing himself in his full suit with a floatie lifeguards usually had, the required whistle worn as a necklace, and a bath bomb he handed the kid, "Enjoy." He walked and disappeared along Beth, leaving Naruto to himself in the warm waters with a bath bomb.

Five seconds later, Naruto yelled "Cannonball!" upon launching himself to the ceiling, throwing down the bath bomb, and curling into a ball. The resulting splash created a pillar of bubbles which showered him in a slow-moving rain. Letting himself float upside down, he watched his favorite cartoon just as the famous brown mouse hit his nemesis' foot with a hammer.

Soft notes greeted him, "How's my darling child doing?" Naruto beamed as his head floated into a pair of fleshy cushions. Looking up he saw Eliza, who hadn't aged a day. She was naked and had the top of her big bags of fat and flesh buoying without revealing too much. Hugging the child from behind, she sat him on her lap with an innocent looking smile.

"I've won, like always!" he boasted with a smug expression, truly looking like her son.

"Ah, should I have expected less?" she tickled his cheek with a finger, "Still, do you forgive me for missing your game?"

Looking down, he spoke up, "Beth and Becker told me why you weren't there..." he started softly, melancholically.

"Dear, I promise to avoid doing so, but..." she slowed down when he turned to her with a grin.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to kill anyone keeping you busy!" the way a child, a being who should remain innocent and pure to enjoy life and learn the essentials from responsible adults, said that had Eliza giggle in dark delight. To see him so devoted at a young age and willing and capable to kill due to her conditioning as well as so used to her sensual nature just thrilled her in all the wrong ways for anyone with decency. For her there was no bigger thrill than painting the world in her colors and tainting someone down to the marrow with her wickedness.

"Such a good little boy you are, Naruto, so good indeed." Eliza cooed and tapped his nose with a finger while he continued to watch TV. "In fact, you've done so well you deserve a little something. A way to make a true man out of you. Are you willing to do so for me?"

"Am I!" he cheered, nearly leaping off her lap, but she kept him close to her body, resting his head between her breasts.

"Let me warn you, we are about to see a very special person." Eliza tapped his nose with a finger, "She will teach you how to properly fight and unleash that power inside you. However," she let out a sad breath of air and ran her hand over golden tresses, "I must warn you of her true nature. You know I am not your blood mother, painful as it is admitting and knowing such a wonderful child like you isn't my flesh and blood." Letting out a miserable sigh, she held him closer, "It is time I teach you who your mother is..."

"But you're still my mom," he turned around, wrapping his tiny arms around her. "I'm not changing that."

Eliza's smile grew amused, warm, and wicked, "Oh, truly, I've been blessed when taking you in."

"So..." he started, his head nestled in her bosom while her hand caressed his wet locks, "Why did my mother...leave me?"

"Not by choice, let me tell you that." Eliza soothed him and pressed her cheek on the top of his head, "Let me show you who she is and why she needed to leave you in my care."

Nodding so softly she only noticed it from his head still resting close to her body, Naruto let her guide him holding his hand. Drying their bodies with fine silk towels Horace left them, the two walked out in Egyptian bathrobes. Eliza's was kept loose to reveal the front of her abdomen and torso save the edge of her nipples while her legs swung freely with her sex barely hidden. Naruto painted a far more innocent figure with his own robe being like a kimono and covering his legs and torso completely. If not because of her servants, Eliza would have no trouble further corrupting the boy and painting him in her colors.

Upon arrival, he squeezed her hand at a bathhouse underneath the main one where crimson blood replaced water, and a sarcophagus made of solidified red liquid rested, "She is resting." Eliza said and squeezed his hand back, "Kushina Uzumaki came to me with a simple plea, to look after you. However, after taking you in to honor her sacrifice to keep you alive, so you remained hidden of people who wanted to wrong and harm you for the mistakes of your father, I...I truly saw you as my own."

Rubbing his face on her thigh, he hugged her bare leg, "I'm still your son, even if she's my real mom. Can't I have two moms?"

Such innocence got her giddy and made her core giggle, "Oh, honey, you don't have to stop seeing me as your own mother." Kneeling down, she patted his worried head, taking in his teary-eyed expression which carried a need for affection that left her drunk with power, "I shall revive her. Bring her back to teach you. However, I am not letting go of you as my own son."

"Revive...? You mean she's..."

"Barely alive," she corrected him and literally dug into her cleavage with a bare hand stabbing her chest. Naruto was not worried when Eliza bloodily pulled out a blue scarab with gold legs and wings ripping it out and smirked, "I had more than enough time to find this little gem. A magical tool infused with part of me. Once awakened, your mother shall share a lot in common with me to live and teach you of your power. And, so we never grow apart, she will stay as our servant to groom you into the perfect pharaoh, one who shall stay at my side forever."

Naruto's upbringing under Eliza brought one response, "I'd get two of you!? Yes!"

"I hoped you'd say that, my precious boy." Elia cooed as she patted his head, then went to work, "Wait here, I shall not take long."

Stepping into the pool of blood, Eliza let her robe absorb her nectar. Soon the white grew red until she stopped in front of the sarcophagus. Placing the beetle on its surface, she sunk her hand and placed the item over Kushina's breasts. A spark of light zipped through her fingers and the redhead's body, and Naruto's biological mom opened her eyes. Glowing white light covered the orbs as blood was drained into the scarab. Its gold legs and wings turned pitch-black and its blue shell was dyed red with the blood. It sank into Kushina's flesh, becoming a tattoo as the sarcophagus was drained.

Stirring in Eliza's arms, held in the bridal-carry, Kushina worried her son, "Mom...?" Naruto asked nervously.

"Wait a bit, Naruto, let me dress her." Eliza cooed and her robe was torn to shreds with her blood controlling it, morphing it as it curled around Kushina's body while the blood of the pool merged with the singer's nude form of which he got a rear view. "And now, my pet, greet your son..."

Opening her eyes at Eliza's words, Kushina walked to Naruto clad in a purple bodycon dress which exposed her cleavage and the new beetle tattoo over it. The dress was for Eliza's dark amusement. Kushina as a kunoichi was beautiful, Eliza's revival had nothing to do with her having a body to dwarf Canopy Royalty and compete with the madwoman's physique. Exploiting the sex appeal of the boy's biological mother was a means to entertain herself. Plus, Eliza loved parading her trophies and decorating everything in her life with her own touch; Kushina had become her best trophy.

Kushina's new attire was a backless dress, two straps barely covered her breasts from the front and met at the back of her neck. It revealed her navel and bellybutton, also exposing the sides of her breasts, just bordering on the edge of her nipples. The skirt was ridiculously short and mostly a loincloth; meaty thighs were completely bare save for thin cords tying the front and back together. It barely hid her buttocks; a skip could reveal them. And, to finish it off, she had long black gloves and stockings.

Clicking from her high-heels made Naruto look up at her, "Mom...?" he asked as she held him with her hands under the boy's armpits to look him in the eye.

"I'm back, honey." Kushina answered with a sad smile and hugged him to her bosom, rubbing his head tenderly, "Mommy's back, and she and Eliza-sama shall care for you."

Hugging her back, he rested his head on the crook of her neck, "Thank you, I promise to be a good son to you two." A soft smile spread on his face as he felt the natural security and warmth of his mother. A warmth which had been tainted by the most crooked woman in New Meridian yet didn't care about. To him Eliza was his mother and entire world.

Everything went delightfully well, much to the joy of Eliza's twisted heart, "Now, my pet, it is getting late, and I'm sure our son is ready to get tucked in."

"I'm...yawn...not..." he groaned weakly and pouted.

Kushina sighed sadly, cradling his head with a hand to look him in the eye, "Don't worry, Naruto... Ah, to call you by your name is...how long I've waited for it." She chortled and gently put him down as Eliza closed the distance, "I can wait longer, for tomorrow we will begin training, and you can tell me how well Eliza-sama has treated you."

She patted the sleepy boy's head, which made him mumble, "Can I...be with you two until I sleep?"

"Sure." Eliza said as her usual gown was reformed with blood.

Both women watched cartoons with him until his tiny body ran out of energy and he fell asleep in a large bed. His room was decorated with posters of his favorite star, Eliza. Pictures and newspapers of her debuts and successes. Photographs of the two of them spending time together as he grew up. And all to her style, Egyptian furniture and similarly themed items. Even his toys had Egyptian themes.

Letting the boy sleep, the two met at Eliza's bedroom in front of her queen-sized scarab-themed bed and Kushina bowed, "Thank you for taking care of my son and making me worthy of serving you, Eliza-sama." A soft and thankful smile was plastered on her face as she kneeled in front of the other woman.

"Stand up." Eliza ordered gently, a finger crooked to her new servant, "Hmm...you are quite beautiful. Ah, yes, giving you eternal youth as an immortal slave was a good choice." Playfully, she slipped her finger on Kushina's breast and slid it up, flicking the mammary gland and watching it jiggle with delight, "I amaze myself, getting such a beauty of a slave. But, ah, to share something with you..."

Kushina didn't look flustered, just dutifully smiling as she stood tall in front of Eliza, "Of that I am proud. You are worthier of choosing Naruto's future than my bastard husband."

"Ah, a hint of your real self, but one merged so well with my own mind, true symbiosis," Eliza cooed.

"Don't worry, I know what you've done, and I love it." Kushina smirked widely, a cruel smile to match Eliza's, "Ever since birth I've known firsthand how humans put others to use under their thumbs. Making me a Jinchuuriki, promising me love only to take away the one good thing in my life, granting him a life of misery as a tool... I much prefer to serve and protect you and our son, Eliza-sama. Doing so instead of aiding the village my stupid husband loved more than his own family, too weak to protect our son... Yes, I want to aid you in making humans suffer."

Eliza was briefly taken aback before barking in laughter, "Ah hahahahaha! Well said, indeed, perfectly said, my pet! Ahahahahah!" she wrapped her arms around Kushina's neck, smiling at the smirking woman, "Your powers and abilities can be useful, so do remember to show how much whenever the situation calls for it." Eliza circled around the redhead, examining her without breaking her one-sided hug, and cooed, "And our darling boy will become worthy of being a pharaoh at my side. Put humans in their place...under my heel and worshipping him not as a star, but our son, a god."

Kushina's smirk widened as she bowed her head slightly, her hair shadowing her eyes, "As you wish, Eliza-sama." Both went to the boy's room and stared at Naruto as he quietly slumbered, each inhale and exhale of his chest bringing a warm feeling to their respective bosoms.

It was what made being a mother worth it.

**-TBC-**

And that's my rap!

Long story short regarding my hiatus and this fic coming to life: shitty life. I know I said I'm on better spirits, but I needed to vent out after a lot of things crapped on me. Then there's the stress of me not being good enough, not posting as regularly as before, and kicking myself with low self-steem.

So, screw it! What you see is what you get: this will be dark! I shall have Eliza as a yandere possessively holding Kushina and Naruto close to twist them in the most corrupting way. Let's recall how evil Eliza is. If anyone tells me she wouldn't get a sexual high from making an innocent boy into her servant and had his mother to serve as her tool, you're wrong.

Eliza is practically Dio Brando but more sensual in the ways she gets pleasure out of turning pure things into shadows of their former selves. She'll make Nadia her all-you-can-eat-buffet while putting her in a Slave Leia outfit and have Filia in a bondage suit made of blood. You know she was planning kinky stuff with them on lone nights.

Anyway, regarding the OCs, Becker is based of Sobek and Beth off Bastet, and both are what Albus and Horace are to Eliza for Naruto. However, there will be a twist. I'll make Naruto here use Fuinjutsu since a) I have Kushina and b) you know you want battles to be less predictable than him using the usual jutsus.

Swordslinger out!


	2. Chapter 2

I OWN NOTHING

Last warning: I'm making this Naruto into a more villainous protagonist like Ainz in the Overlord anime.

**-0-**

Over 6 years later…

Naruto's mastery over the demon sealed within became iron-clad. Kushina and Eliza, his twin mothers, raised him accordingly, instilling him with the values both held dear. In due time, he was forced by the law to enter public school. Much to the chagrin of Eliza who abhorred the idea of public education itself, preferring instead private tutors to teach him everything he needed to know. But those were the strict laws of the Canopy Kingdom, and lest they attract too much attention to themselves, his mothers had to send him into high school.

"Naruto!" A female voice filled with haughtiness but also genuine care and friendliness, called out to the blond youth.

Circular glasses adorned his face, a special gift from Eliza to make him look even more as the scholar he was supposed to be. Age developed him well; a life of harsh training and good eating gave him a tall, sturdy frame and a lean physique. Although his hair grew into a wild mane like his father's, but it looked better on him. He usually deigned not to wear the school uniform unless he expressly had to. Instead, he favored black pants and loafers, a double-breasted orange jacket and a green scarf around his neck which was long enough to flow like a cape with a gold scarab badge pinning the scarf closed.

On his right hand was a small book on hieroglyphs, which he marked a page on before closing, and on his left a small suitcase with authentic crocodile scales which contained his school supplies. It was adorned with a few memorabilia to hint of his interests. An Egyptian scarab pin made of brass to represent his mother and family. The Canopy Kingdom's Star baseball team, the White Egrets, represented by a white pin with the emblem of the kingdom. And a shuriken pin, indicating his connection to Kushina and her status as a kunoichi. He truly looked a scholar.

He greeted her casually, "Filia-chan." Leaning against a wall and pushing up the bridge of his glasses with his middle and index fingers. Filia Medici was an immensely attractive blonde girl. She possessed a curvy and plump frame, wore her hair in a classical rich-girl cut with a black headband minus the ringlets, had the school uniform, and possessed a normally sly even arrogant look about her.

"UGH! Stop acting so casual! You know you annoy me when you don't take things seriously, you whiskered dope!" Filia stomped toward him, lambasting him with both her tongue and her finger poking his broad chest. The scholar pocketed his book to look down at her properly. Being taller than her and lankier too gave him the great honor of being able to make her feel small. Not that her ego let him do it for long.

"What? It's a free period, math isn't for another…ten minutes if the sun's position in the sky is right," he looked up above her head, gesturing with his book and tracing the sun's path with it. Then he gave the girl a cockier grin, "What's up? Carol-chan got bullied again?"

She shook her head, eyes closed in frustration as she had a hand to her chin, "Not since you threatened to, and I quote, 'Use a cheap bat to stuff it up the captain of the team's ass and use him as a new bat'. Thanks for that, by the way. I can tell them to knock it off, but they'll just go behind my back if I'm not with Carol all the time." When one eye snapped open, the girl gave him a sly look, "Hey, would you mind going to the school dance with her? I can get any random stooge to be my partner, but she's going stag if I don't help her out."

"Why not dance with you both?" he asked just as smooth as she had.

Her other eye opened wide and a blush came over her face, "I-Idiot! Because that's n-not right! A g-guy can't go in with two girlfriends!" she told him in a huff.

"I bet she wouldn't mind." Naruto replied casually and closed his eyes, the circular lenses adding to the effect of making him look like a sleeping fox.

Rubbing the side of her head, she looked up the sky with a frown, "It's just not normal… A guy having two girlfriends. You have two moms. That's weird enough. But I… It'd be weird going to the dance with you and Carol as my partners."

Chortling, he leaned close to her to increase her blush, "Would you actually enjoy it, though? You hate most of the guys on the team. I'm basically your only genuine male friend. My first mom always told me to do what I feel I should and not care about what others say about it. I took that to heart."

Frowning, she looked away from him, a fist clenching at how much what he said resonated with her own personal beliefs, "Even if that's so, what would other people think if I went to the dance with you two?" she asked, seeking his council, "If I just bite the bullet and let one of those stupid jocks go to the dance with me, it'll look better for you and Carol."

He pocketed his book, rubbing its surface with his thumb, "If you want to dance with the person you like, do it. Don't hang out with those stupid perverts who only like you because you've got money and beauty. What would it hurt to come to the dance with me and Carol instead of those losers?" He asked, leaning against the wall with his hat glasses giving a lingering light that made him look like a large-eyed fox.

"Idiot. But fine, you convinced me. I'll go with you, but you better not ignore Carol…or me! Give us both equal attention or I'll be pissed at you for the rest of the school year!" she chided him again, the scholar nodding at her with a cheeky grin.

"You're cute when you get angry, I hope you know that, Filia-chan." He complimented her or so it seemed, but his tone had a slightly teasing and even mocking ring to it.

However, she didn't rise to the bait, groaning in response to his teasing, "Just shut it, idiot. Oh…And Carol! C'mon, I can see you over there!"

A delicate looking brown-haired waif of a girl hesitantly stepped away from an opposing wall, walking over to them shyly and blushing as she did so. "Naruto…Filia…I'm…you're going to the d-dance…with me?" she asked amazed by that. She wore the same uniform Filia wore but had a much slender and narrower body, lacking the curviness of her best friend. She was still in the middle of her development.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "My two moms told me to hang out with girls my age to act like a normal teen. But I like you both, so if you're fine, we can go to the dance."

Filia grabbed Carol around the neck with one hand, holding Naruto with the other, "Just stick with me, chuckleheads! I'll give you the greatest dance of your lives~!"

As the trio of teens cheered...

Eliza donated a large sum to the blood bank. Happily smiling, a close-eyed Kushina folded her fur coat after taking it from her. Horace opening the door to her limousine for the two while Albus waited at the wheel. Eliza entered her car with Kushina close behind and none aging a day as the former promised the latter. Kushina's only change was that her scarab tattoo grew a darker red while a good diet after her body adjusted from being in stasis post-birth for years made her breasts and behind plumper. She could compete with Eliza in size alone, and her mistress liked owning her as a slave more for it.

"Naruto will be out soon." Kushina said, remaining close-eyed with a cheerful little grin, "Shall we go greet him or send Becker and Beth?"

"Oh, tempting, but our darling has befriended that Medici girl." Eliza contemplated her options, "If anything, seeing Vitale's niece fawn over him makes seeing him more enjoyable. However, I fear he's planned on ways to end that girl's worth sooner or later. He is nothing but a parasite devoted to become his father's replacement."

"It can work to our advantage, though." Kushina opened her eyes, revealing pitch-black sclerae and red irises, another side-effect of being revived with part of Eliza, "Rightful heirs tend to demerit hard workers. To think nepotism can bring down someone like Vitale... Then again, that child doesn't seem like she could be a bad leader of the mafia."

Eliza narrowed her eyes, "Speaking like she's worthy of our son... I see your true self remains strong even if you've merged with a fraction of my own self."

Kushina giggled, "Why, I am a mother. It's natural for me to want to see my little one happy with another woman." Then her smile turned as wicked as her mistress', "Although, of course, I would like to put her in her rightful place, under your heel. Perhaps in a cute little dancer outfit for her to entertain you and our son... Or serve you drinks in a cute little dress. I think it'd show Vitale how worthless he is seeing the one girl to take away all he's worked for as your personal footstool. Fufufufu... I already have the perfect outfits to dress her up in mind."

Eliza returned the smirk, hers more amused, "Ah, and there's a reminder of why I let you be yourself."

Kushina let out another giggle, "Still, for you to be jealous of a little girl is quite amusing, Eliza-sama. Don't doubt I consider you the perfect woman for our son, but... Fufufu..."

Eliza leaned back and kept her smile, "I will let him play around, but he needs to know who the most important woman in his life is."

"Of course, Eliza-sama." Kushina pulled out a clipboard and set her once good mood in the back of her mind as a sigh escaped her lips, "Next on your agenda is meeting with Lorenzo." Her eyes turned into furious slits, "I still need a reminder of why you haven't allowed me to end his life. Pompous bastard... Thinking he owns our son and you, Eliza-sama..."

"Oh, let that anger simmer, it shall all be worth it once he's in a place he can't escape." Eliza answered with a tired expression, "Every man like him ends the same. Ageless people like us can watch and learn from a truly inexhaustible supply of fools like him. It is what has kept me on my toes, learning from their mistakes... Also, what has brought me no end of joy."

"Fine, if that is your will." Kushina sighed and flipped through the pages. "Other than that, if we can finish that meeting and see who he wants dead, we can have enough time to ourselves and Naruto. I believe he's got a mock game scheduled with another team, a major league set of players. It's one of those morale boosting matches where they demolish lesser teams."

"Oh, I can't wait for our boy to make them regret being pitted against him." Eliza looked forward to it.

"Can't believe I've grown to like baseball..." Horace commented at the passenger's seat.

Albus barked in laughter, "There's popcorn, hotdogs and cool merch, plus you get to gang up with other fans of your team against idiots from the other if a fight breaks out! It's great!"

Kushina beamed at her mistress, ignoring the other two servants' conversation, "Anyway, I shall arrange everything for Naruto's little dance."

"Hmph, if you must...just make him look presentable." Eliza said bitterly. The diva wanted the boy's love to make him as overwhelmingly devoted to her as she was enraptured by him.

**-0-**

"Sir." Becker greeted Naruto as he opened the door to Eliza's second limousine.

"I really wish fine clothing was robes like in my mom's favorite time and my mom's shitty village...give me a kimono over a stuffy suit any day." It got confusing for some hearing him talk about the woman that took him in and he still considered his mother while his flesh and blood progenitor remained with him. Although some managed by context if they knew the two well.

"Current standards dictate that a suit is what a proper young man ought to wear to a dance, young master." Beth replied calmly, "And, to quote your mothers, you are to look dashing." Naruto wore a beige suit, a simple piece with a double-breasted jacket and pants, a black shirt with no tie, and brown shoes. His head was gelled back, but its natural spikiness made it look feathery.

"I'm still not wearing a tie." Naruto groaned as he remembered how that went, then turned to Becker, "How do you, Albus and Horace have time to wear nooses around your necks?"

Becker pulled off his tie, "Clip-on."

"Ugh...clever y-" Naruto's complaint was cut off before it started when Beth handed him three flowers. "What are these for?"

"Proper greetings require flowers, and you can use them to match with your dates." Naruto merely arched a brow at Beth's explanation. "The third one's for you to mount on your wrist."

"But none of these really match..." he commented, knowing that much.

Beth pushed up her glasses, making them glint as she further educated him, "For your dates we have the Lotus and Papyrus, symbolizing the upper and lower parts of the mistress' old home, respectively. As for you there is the pure white Lotus flower, the only plant to fruit and flower simultaneously is the national flower of mistress Eliza's ancient abode."

"Lotus for Filia and Papyrus for Carol, then." Naruto frowned at that, "Why can't they wear the same flowers as me?"

Beth stood tall, icy and blunt, "You know the mistress holds you to the highest regard, those two are lucky she considered acknowledging them. Doing this she is letting you enjoy yourself with the two, but they're still judged by her high standards. Lady Kushina on the other hand wants you to have fun and, to quote milady, make your mommy Eliza jealous."

"Sounds like them..." Naruto sighed as he clipped on the white flower on the lapel of his jacket. "Let's get Carol first, then. Her parents are out of the city and she's been feeling the loneliest ever since. Plus, Medici thugs won't try anything funny with a witness their heiress likes."

Driving to the suburbs with the setting sun was peaceful and downright soothing when seeing the leaves of the trees flow in the air or get picked by kids to make piles to hop into and make a big mess. Maplecrest, truly a quaint, lovely place. Just as the scar turned a deep orange about to become a deeper red, Naruto exited the limousine with Beth opening the door and offering him the Papyrus flower. With a deep intake of air and mental pictures of how great Carol would look in a dress, he made his way to the door.

Right when he knocked was the exact moment when he knew something was wrong, "Young master...?" Beth asked as he stood still on the door.

"It's unlocked." Naruto said, pushing it and looking inside, "Carol...?" he asked, only to find darkness. "I'm coming in, so-" a cracking sound made him turn to the floor, seeing a jar on it. Apparently thrown, it lied on one cracked side, meaning there was a fight which broke out.

And then, a shadow, "Dammit..." cursed a female cloaked in darkness with a body slung over her shoulders, one which face he recognized thanks to the sunlight when the mysterious woman ran off.

"Carol!" he yelled as he raced after the mysterious woman, furious, "Beth, call Filia and tell her I'll be late! Becker, you're coming with me!"

"On it!" the alligator man leapt out of the limousine and raced after Naruto.

Racing the kidnapper on the streets, Naruto cursed as they threw something to the lampposts to make the incoming darkness of the night their ally, "Persistent little brat..." she cursed and threw something at him when he closed in the distance with more ease thanks to not carrying an unconscious girl over his shoulders.

"Becker!" Naruto called out and held up his right hand up beside his head, then swung. He deflected three scalpels with a giant gold inkbrush the size of a baseball bat, complete with a handle made of black crocodile scales. Its head was shaped like Becker's on a much smaller scale, the maw wide open to reveal the white strands which tips dripped with black ink.

Pushing up his glasses with his free hand, he glared at the woman taking Carol, "What is that toy you got there, boy?" the kidnapper inquired with mild-curiosity, glad the shadows covered her form at long last.

"Let Carol go, you bitch!" Naruto was taught by Kushina to never use such language unless a woman deserved to be kicked while down. Eliza encouraged it and said to do the kicking if said woman dared to steal a valuable treasure from him, "This inkbrush is Sobek, and I can do more than paint a pretty picture with it. Just give me a reason to show you what my mother taught me about seals! Fear the Uzumaki Fuinjutsu!"

"Cute toy, but it's skill what counts, boy." Carol's kidnapper mocked him, pulling out what looked like an old, non-electrical bone-saw.

"I'm taking her dancing..." Naruto got into position and swung with all his might, creating a wall of ink which floated midair! "And you to the morgue!"

His enemy's only visible eye widened when the ink splashed the floor and revealed the boy gone, forcing her to dash up with a hop when he reappeared at her side. Pulling out her bone-saw, she revealed it to be designed like a short sword with its handle. However, attempting to cut the brush proved useless! Her eye widened further when seeing the blade break against the sturdy gold of the living instrument Eliza granted Naruto. Seeing a small chance to retreat, the boy's enemy took it and threw Carol up into the sky.

"You want to take her to the stage!?" she asked while Carol, clad in a simple black nightgown, soared up into the sky. "Dance with me first, lover-boy!" Pulling out an IV-stand with sharp dual blades at the top, she swatted aside the second swing, using the staff portion of her bizarre spear to close in the distance and pierce his heart! The blades drew closer to the boy's face, intent on scarring such cute features further. Perhaps even take his eye as a reminder of who he shouldn't mess with.

But then, a yellow flash of light blinded her good eye, "She's my date!" he exclaimed as he suddenly closed the distance and swung the brush like it was a bat, forcing her back, "So back off her!" he snarled and used his brush like one would a one-handed sword, swinging it around with the skill of a master samurai. His adversary had to spin her spear to deflect and block attacks from left, right, up, down and all in-betweens. Five strikes in less than two seconds by a boy meant she got some bruises that made her retreat further until she had no choice.

"Dammit!" she, somehow, pulled out a body bag! Its contents took the damage and arms popped out, grabbing Naruto and dragging him in, "Now, be a good boy and..." she hugged the bag and leapt up, ready to drop him head-first into the ground in a flying suplex, "GET SOME SLEEP!" Once the two descended and she sunk the top of the body bag into the solid concrete, she smirked as it went limp, "Not bad at all. If you'd been born a girl, I could've used you for this little pro..."

Once more, her eye widened when the bag opened and revealed a chopped off log, "Boo!" the boy exclaimed to mock her.

"How did you-" the kidnapper finally saw where he was standing, the boy had used his brush to scribble seals all over the streets, and just as she tried to counter him, he disappeared in a yellow flash.

Reappearing behind her thanks to another seal, Naruto's brush made contact with her temple. His enemy rolled on the street away from Carol, who had landed safely on a pile of leaves, "Sorry, Carrol, I should have caught you..." Naruto said as he approached her, "Let's get you home and call Filia. Screw the dance..."

Just when he was about to pick her up, someone else intercepted him, "Can't let you ruin her date with destiny."

"What?" Naruto looked up at a copy of himself clad in his scholar outfit, but the colors were all wrong. Instead of red, the gi was white, the kimono black and the pants blue. The hair was a deep red as well as both eyes which were surrounded by shadows.

Using the boy's shock to their advantage, the doppelganger made their move, "Goodbye!" the double taunted him and swung a copy of his brush with the same strength as the original blond! Naruto saw stars as he crashed on the floor while his doppelganger and the mysterious kidnapper took Carol with them. Deep hatred burnt deep within him as he forced himself up using Sobek as a crutch.

"Don't...think you're...getting away, you..." he collapsed on a knee and felt his temple bleed, "Damn it... How can someone just match me in strength?"

Unluckily for him, the two had left, granting him nothing but a scorching desire for revenge and Beth barely arriving, "Young master, the police are on their way. We need to retreat." She helped him stand up with Becker's help, although the two assistants had some trouble getting him to comply.

"Wait, she's getting away..." he growled.

"Later!" Becker exclaimed.

"If you get caught here, the Medici will no doubt get the mistress in trouble." Beth reminded him, "All it takes is for them to plant evidence and use their connections in the police force to frame you for this. They may also know something about her, so let the mistress help you find her."

"Damn it... dammit!" he growled but followed them, "I...I'll find her, even if I must do so myself."

"Understood, but first let us call your mothers." Beth said as the three finally got into the speeding off limousine.

"Here." Becker said as he handed the cat woman a first-aid kit.

"Thanks..." the schoolboy groaned while Beth helped him patch his wound. "Becker, Beth, I'm counting on you to come hunt down those two while mom deals with the mafia."

Beth, despite her cold exterior, nodded dutifully at him, "As always, I am at your service, young master."

"Same." Becker said as the three left the scene.

**-0-**

Days went pass by, and no one was happy, least of all the man at the throne of the mafia family, currently stating at Eliza from the other side of his desk. The Medici Family HQ was a luxury palace paid for with the blood and suffering of others. Kushina could practically smell that suffering from her place hidden in the shadows with no-one being any wiser to her presence. Another reason Eliza loved having her around.

She couldn't hide her disgust, "My, have you grown into a...truly outstanding man."

Lorenzo Medici was old as dust, truly the picture of a man with a foot on the grave and the slightest of breezes to push him in. At his side stood Vitale, a plump man with rectangular glasses, a fine suit and his hair neatly combed backwards. On the old mafia boss' other side was his bodyguard, Black Dahlia, a woman dressed like a widow, with a veil for her black summer hat, and a grenade launcher replacing her right arm. A dozen other mobsters surrounded the room with their guns at the ready. And, to Kushina's displeasure, Filia's parents were missing.

"Eliza, I hope you are comfortable." Lorenzo said as the diva stood before him, but not as alone as he thought.

"That I am, although you've certainly looked better." Lorenzo's pride was something she loved to jab at.

"Silence!" the senile mobster snapped, banging his desk with a fist. "I've called you regarding your adopted son."

"Sorry, darling, he isn't your muscle or your talent." Eliza cut him off with a smug smile.

"I know how devoted he is to you, and what he is capable of." Lorenzo growled, "Don't think we are stupid."

"Oh, can you prove he's done anything?" Eliza had truly been grateful for Kushina.

"Perhaps not, but regardless of what a good cleaner you have, you didn't think we wouldn't pick any dirt on you." Lorenzo smirked, then started snickering, "We pay attention to what crimes happen all around the city. No good would come from us getting blamed for what we didn't commit. And I know for a fact your son knew a little missing case."

Eliza narrowed her eyes slightly but played it off with a smug expression, "You mean the girl that broke his heart? I assure you, even if you could try to pin it on him, he had nothing to do with it."

Vitale pushed up his glasses as he spoke, "Cut the façade. We learnt that my niece had contacted your son the same night that girl, Carol, went missing. We have to give this information for the police to strip away his fame. Isn't he rumored to be the future star player of the White Egrets? Someone recommended to play for Princess Parasoul's team? And what of his expertise in ancient languages? What could this little bit of information do to his image?"

Gritting her teeth, Eliza dropped all pretense, "Smearing my sweet boy's name is drawing a line, Vitale. Also, I believe I was talking to the actual boss of the mafia."

"Shut up!" Lorenzo snarled, "Your son is useless to me as he is now, but you better listen and comply! You've heard of the new Skullgirl, what she has done to our family! Bring me her heart while it's still beating, or you and your son can enjoy the cops raiding your place before it's taken from you and your life is ruined!"

Kushina was livid but kept her face straight and remained hidden, "Bastard..." she growled, desiring to kill the two men to the point her desire was palpable.

However, they had to keep appearances, which Vitale exploited, "We will send someone to meet you. You are not to leave your house without our say so until we receive word from them. Keep in mind we can and will also be ever so vigilant of your young superstar."

"Trust me, he won't see what's coming." Black Dahlia said, "He may be good with a bat, but no batman can outperform a good bullet."

And that little information brought a small sense of relief to Eliza, who acted like any idol should and showed disgust when needed, "Don't let them keep me waiting, then."

Leaving the Medici HQ, Kushina slipped out of the building undetected with a scowl on her face, "Eliza-sama, tell me we are ending their lives in the near future."

Both had entered her limousine, and Eliza couldn't contain her smile, "Oh, worry not, Lorenzo's life has exhausted its use." She giggled, "And to think they pride themselves in sniffing out talent, yet out son isn't in their radar." Cackling, she threw her head back, "Vitale, you utter fool! Seeing only what I portrayed him as, but not what I truly made of him!"

Kushina understood, "They've...never seen Naruto's true power?"

Eliza nodded, "All thanks to Albus, Horace, and you, my pet." Kushina felt her mistress' hand caress her cheek tenderly, cupping it, "If not for your abilities in the shadows, watching out for those who could have hid in the darkness to gain advantage over me, I would have probably been caught."

"It wasn't good enough to keep Naruto safe..." Kushina shut her eyes tightly, clutching the front of her skirt with both hands balled into fists.

"Shush now, my pet." Eliza held her into a tight, warm hug, caressing her hair, "Our son has been trained for a reason, and he's waited for a chance to look for that little girl. Let us send him out in his own mission and, in the end, enjoy life without the Medici."

"Something is up, though." Kushina replied and leaned into the songstress' body, curling into Eliza's arms, "That girl, Filia, hasn't been herself. Naruto is worried she's affected and may do something a fool would. In fact, what he's told us of her changes makes one wonder if she's still the same girl or not."

Eliza understood the redhead's point, "Something bigger than Vitale can cover has happened. Amnesia is such a cliché, but it'd make the forceful disappearance of her parents work if that girl is a double..." she let out a soft hum as the two embraced with Kushina's face in the other woman's hefty bosom and Eliza's fingers combing red tresses, "Let's leave this mystery to our son. We shall be busy."

"Understood." Kushina murmured softly, taking in Eliza's scent to soothe her nerves.

**-0-**

"Filia-chan..."

"Oh, Naruto, right?" Naruto had finished his classes earlier. Being a year older than Filia meant he was in a different classroom. However, everyone noticed the change. Black locks instead of light gold ones, bright red eyes instead of the usual innocent pools, and a meatier, chubbier form. A hat always covered the girl's head and her attitude had changed from the smug princess of the mafia to a shy, meek and cute girl. It was such a shift in personality the blond questioned if he was in a bad dream.

"How's the amnesia going?" he asked calmly, unsure of what to say to the person he was told was Filia.

"I'm still nowhere close to getting answers..." she replied, holding her temples, "I thank you for telling me my last name, though. Medici..."

"Don't think you're anything like those thugs." Naruto said firmly.

"I...thanks, I mean it." Filia was taken back by his words, "Still...I may not recall much, but I enjoy this life."

Naruto gave her a soft smile, "I'm helping you get your memories back, no worries. And if I do so earlier than finding Carol, we can go out together."

"Again, thank you, for trying to be a good friend despite..."

"Don't worry, I'll find your memories, alright?" he tried to reassure her, burning up inside. "For now, I better check and see if anything big has turned up."

"Be careful." Filia said shyly as the two parted ways.

Returning home, Naruto walked to his mothers at the dining room. A luxurious and ample table with an Egyptian throne for Eliza with golden lionesses as the arm rests, a winged beetle-themed chair for him, quite the best mahogany for the table, and Kushina on the wood. Lying flat on her back, the redhead was naked as the day she was born. The only thing covering her was Eliza's meal, sushi. Fresh fish covered her fit and slim stomach, two leaves adorned her breasts where more sushi was on display, and a larger leaf rested over her crotch where dressings rested.

Naruto merely sat without batting an eye, "Did you really need the extra flair, mother?" he asked Eliza by looking her directly in the eye.

The diva answered as she carefully pinched a piece of salmon from Kushina's belly, dipped it in eel sauce, and deliberately tickled her bellybutton with it, "We're having a guest over. I feel the need to make them uncomfortable with the way the Medici are twisting my arm. Plus, I love the irony of a human body being a platter for my food."

"What're they doing?" Naruto asked, his sour mood growing bitter at the news.

"Honey, we've talked about your temper." Kushina told him with her eyes closed in a pleasant smile.

"I'm not letting them get to mom, mom." Naruto replied firmly, "All I need is an opening to take them out and you just have to-"

"Oh, darling, let your mother finish." Eliza replied with a soft smile, "Remember you two love me the same. Why do you think Kushina's so calm about it?"

Naruto clenched and unclenched his hands, sighing, "Sorry...I'm still on edge. I missed that detail."

"It's alright, you're still learning to be a proper man, a son worthy of Eliza-sama." Kushina smiled kindly and patiently at him. "Once we finish lunch, you shall go on your own mission. Becker and Beth shall keep you informed while Albus, Horace and I aid Eliza-sama in hunting down the Skullgirl."

"And the Medici still have a use for us, a rather limited one, though." Eliza replied and chewed on her salmon, grabbing a piece of tuna from Kushina's left breast next, "Finding your friend Carol is your duty now. I do believe those two-bit thugs may have a lead. They mentioned her and how they keep tabs on missing cases. If anything, that's a declaration someone in their ranks saw her."

Collecting himself, the blond held his chin with a thoughtful expression, "Considering the last missing cases in Little Innsmouth... I assume that's where they get their supply of slaves." He adjusted his glasses, keeping his eyes hidden by their shine but keeping a determined, cheerful smile when he stood up. "I shall go at once. Do enjoy your meal, moms."

"Do your best, sweetie." Eliza cheered.

"Take care, honey." Kushina beamed.

"Love you, moms." Naruto said standing next to them and leaned down to kiss each of them, first Kushina and then Eliza, the redhead on the cheek and the crooked diva on the lips.

Raising Naruto was Eliza's proudest and darkest thrill. Corrupting a child from birth into seeing things her way, making it so seeing his biological mother sensually nude if covered by little to nothing didn't shock him. Becoming his mother in all but blood and painting him in her colors, twisting his sense of right and wrong to her desires, and transforming him into her perfect guardian were endeavors for a specific purpose: fun. It amused her to see a once pure being end up pecking her on the lips as if that was what mothers and sons should do.

Naruto truly became Eliza's son, seeing her dirty, immoral perversions as completely normal. All he learnt and did was to serve and please her. Sex had been quite the hands-on experience as the twisted singer had wanted all his fists. Taking him and showing him all there was to intercourse was her way of being a mother and further ensnare him into servitude. Plus, he was quite good at numbing her legs.

Breaking the last kiss with a wet suction sound – Eliza's lips and his having a thin line of spit bridging them briefly which she licked off after he pulled apart–, he left. "We've taught him well." Kushina giggled.

"Indeed, but those two girls he obsesses with..." Eliza frowned, her once good mood ruined by a thought.

"Oh shush, they shall make perfect playthings and servants, remember." Kushina smiled while her fellow mother chewed on the tuna. Looking at her mistress' pensive face, she asked, "Will he be alright? He is not a servant like me. Someone could try and shake his will, test his devotion toward you, Eliza-sama. If anything-"

"Now you worry, my pet?" Eliza asked, further amused as she tapped the redhead's nose, "Do not. Remember how we took our time with him, the way we raised our darling boy. Even if he desires for something or cherishes something other than me, he will still come back. I am his mother as much or if not more so than you."

"Oh, those are fighting words." Kushina said, then giggled, "Just kidding, but please forgive me for my doubts."

"I shall if you do a good job, pet." Eliza said as she leaned down and sucked on the last piece of fish over Kushina's nipple, making her moan.

Proud, wicked mothers enjoyed a fun meal.

**-TBC-**

And that's my rap!

Did I mention I wanted to make Eliza's relationship to Naruto as messed up as she is? Well, now you see how she enjoys her time off. I know some if not most of you didn't want this to be a harem, but I do need some motivation for Naruto and to not make him a hundred percent a dick. Although this is to karma-balance what he'll do next.

Swordslinger out!


	3. Chapter 3

I OWN NOTHING

Friendly reminder in case last chapter fooled you: Naruto here will be a villainous protagonist. You have been warned.

**-0-**

Planks of wood separated the people from the water below them. Buildings done in a tasteful architecture which would make Kushina feel nostalgic seemed to reach for the skies. Everything and everyone were the product of the water. Half-fish people roamed the streets, all their species didn't matter as they all saw themselves as Dagonians. Fresh sushi was one of the best sources of income, ironically enough.

"Little Innsmouth, how cute." Naruto stepped out of the limousine with Beth at his side and Becker keeping his hands in his pockets.

His feline secretary gently groomed herself as she explained the situation, "According to police and news reports, the Medici work around the clock here." Beth said after licking the back of her hand and passing it over her head, flicking her ears. "Also, this humidity is...going to be annoying."

At her cat growl, Becker shook his head, "Feels fine."

"And it smells good..." Naruto said, then groaned when his stomach rumbled, "Dammit, I should've had some lunch."

"There." Becker pointed at a nearby restaurant.

Beth nodded mid-grooming herself again, "Good, we can fill the young master's stomach, talk to the locals for information, and get into a possibly less humid place." They did so. Walking into a simple restaurant, they scanned the place and its workers. Two were present and chatted with a costumer, Beth licking her lips at the sight of them.

The first was a fat, short catfish man with an apron, squinty eyes, and two cleavers which chopped and diced ingredients into a bowl. Naruto took notice of a blue Dagonian girl with an orange fin on her head akin to a ponytail, blue scales on her arms, legs and head – the latter resembling hair –, and an innocent face. She wore a white apron, a simple pearl crown with a shell on her forehead, and stockings. It made Naruto wonder if the scales that acted as a skirt covered everything. And the third one just beamed at the sight of them.

"A suited wrestler, a secretary and a cute nerd walk into a restaurant...and the joke is...?" asked a feline Feral.

"Nadia..." the waitress chastised her. Nadia was a tan-skinned, lithe young woman with light blue eyes and white hair styled in a bob cut. Her Feral features included black cat ears, tail, clawed hands and feet and a prominent canine over her lower lip. She had a clean scar on her left cheek, while those on her neck, biceps, forearms, thighs, legs and feet were larger and more jagged. She was proud of her body displayed with a light blue striped crop top with the underside of her breasts showing, a gray utility belt, black fingerless gloves, black hot pants and the remnants of pantlegs.

Also, she wore a thick black collar with a stylized cat bell, which Naruto took as his opening, "They had a question for the cat working for the fish at the fish stand." He pushed up his glasses and closed his eyes, then approached them. As much as he needed answers and wanted Carol back, he knew there was something up. "Any sighting of the Medici?"

That certainly caught the other three by surprise, the chef asking, "What're you doing here, boy?"

"Looking for a friend they may have taken." Naruto answered bluntly, "Anything works so long as I get to bash answers out of their heads."

"Sorry, sport, but the joke's that the cat's keeping watch over the fish in case pigs try to get them." Nadia answered with a shrug and a sad expression.

It gave Naruto an idea, "Hmm, anyone in particular?" he looked at the two Dagonians, giving the cat girl a bad feeling.

"Hey, what's with the shifty look?" she asked, putting a hand on the girl, "Minette, behind me."

"Oh, don't worry, I just want help." Naruto said calmly, "If you pose as bait, I can smash the Medici's faces in and get information. Someone must have something."

Nadia narrowed her eyes at him, "Yeah, no, you're not using Minette like cheese on a string for those rats."

"Someone I like is in danger, I am not going out emptyhanded." He said with narrowed eyes.

"And we can deny customers service, so get going!" the chef said, waving a large kitchen knife at the boy...and found it cut in two with a swift kick! Naruto made the trio step back, his leg still outstretched as he calmly kept his glasses in place with his middle and index fingers on the bridge. If one paid attention to his foot, they'd see a blue wind flowing around it.

Calmly and with a soft smile, the scholar informed them of his plan, "Minette, right? If you help me find my friend, I assure you the Medici will die after they tell me everything I need." He looked at them with both eyes covered by the shine of his lenses and portraying a friendly smile, which made it creepy for the blue girl.

"Sorry, out of cute girls to date, and if you stay too long..." Nadia got into a simple stance, bouncing on her toes, "...don't envy me for having gotten more than one life."

"Fair enough." Naruto replied impassively and held out his hand, "Becker, Sobek."

The large reptilian man nodded and morphed into the golden brush, "Aye."

"Beth, I'd be grateful if you'd be so kind to become Bastet." Naruto asked and extended a hand.

"At once, young master." Eliza's second living tool morphed in the same manner as her counterpart, becoming a papyrus scroll with a snarling golden cat head on both ends.

"Sobek, let's end this quickly." Naruto said as the brush sunk to the size of a regular brush, letting him quickly write into the scroll, peel off the paper, and turn to the cat girl.

"You're really trying to fight me on my own turf by writing poetry? You've got some real fuzz between your legs, kid!" Nadia said, her body dodging the paper seal when he threw it at her like it was a kunai and he a ninja. "Nice try, but too slow...ow!" Pain surprised her when the pain spontaneously combusted! It created an explosion midair which force sent her crashing straight on her face!

As she kissed the floor, Naruto prepared another paper seal in a split second, "How's that?" he asked.

Nadia got up and smirked, "I got tricks to get ahead of you!" she joked with a wide smirk. Naruto was surprised when her head popped clean off her shoulders to be kicked like a hacky sack by her knee bending back in a way that should've been impossible to achieve without aid. But he saw how she did it. As her legs split apart, the scar tissue attached and extended thanks to the muscle sinew stretching.

"You can do it, Nadia!" Minette cheered as she and the chef hid behind the counter.

Nadia sent her head flying right at him, "This'll get your head out of the clouds!" she quipped.

Sobek grew into its larger size as Naruto readied himself like any fighter would, "Nice t-" When he swung his brush like a bat to send her head flying back, what she did surprised him. "What!?" Her ears extended out, wrapped around the brush, and used the momentum to fling herself into his stomach. Tucking it in, he hopped back since she had gained enough revolution time to fasten herself into a drill! Spinning his brush in a circle, he deflected and sent her flying back. Catching her head, her body placed it back on, spinning about and giving him a toothy leer.

"Having fun?" she asked and leapt to the wall, running along it with her claws like a cat climbing it.

"No, but I'll make certain that you have more of a 'blast' than I will!" Naruto warned her, the scroll in his hand extended several feet as he tore off a page from it and rapidly scrawled kanji onto it with his brush. When he threw it at her, it exploded in a burning fireball that nearly scorched her whiskers black!

"Whoa! That's one explosive bit of writing, not bad kitten!" Nadia yelped as she fell to the floor, she looked up gulping visibly until he wrote a fresh note on his scroll. Holding a handful of explosive notes, he threw them as fast as a machine gun could fire its ammo out, "Oh kitty litter!" she leapt off the floor, watching another hole bigger than the first one much to her friends' shock, "Hey, watch where you're hitting, will ya!?"

"I am." Naruto said and continued throwing more explosive notes at her, each one bringing the earth into detonative eruptions around him.

She landed and shook her head slightly, giving him an aggrieved stare with narrowed eyes and her ears going flat against her head, "Alright, time for the mittens to come off, because this cat is going to whip your sorry hide, kitten! You asked for it!" she exclaimed and twirled in place, spinning her body to bring up her heel for a textbook axe-kick...which was swatted aside by a brutal swing from the brush!

She nearly got her head torn off by the strike. "Stand down!" Naruto roared angrily and used the momentum of his last strike to do a 360-degree rotation and send Nadia flying back!

"Oh...Minette, can you pick up the phone...?" Nadia grunted as her head rung.

"Why you!" the chef snarled and charged at the boy, swinging a new pair of knives. Naruto let him get close...allowing him to stab the boy's gut, "Wha-" That was the chef's last word before the blond burst into a cloud of smoke, and then he felt a presence behind him followed by a powerful strike to the head which knocked him out cold.

"Now, let's do this my way." Naruto said to Minette and approached her at the counter, the girl shivering, "Come, it is for a good-gah!" in his confidence, Naruto ignored Nadia whose head was kicked by the young woman herself to bite into his wrist. "Grr, let go!" he pulled her off and was about to send her straight into the ground, but something worse stopped him.

"I don't know about you, but I'm having a ball!" Nadia's head exclaimed as her body threw her arm forward, joined only by stretching muscle tissue which coiled around his limb. Legs and arms hugged Naruto tight and firm before they extended, wrapping him in a ball of muscle! "Time out for you, mister!" Nadia joked as her body played with the ball like a cat with yarn.

"...your puns hurt more..." Naruto's muffled voice got out...as did his brush!

"Ah!" Nadia's head yelped in pain and she saw the source of the horrible sensation.

The brush clamped down with its teeth, the strands within retracting then going rigid, spearing forth in a forest of iron bristles piercing the ball. Naruto broke through by grinding his way through! He spun the brush around, smashing it into the earth before he doodled a seal upon its surface. The kanji glowed and then exploded out into a spear of earth the pun-loving cat woman backflipped away from, panicking as she watched the spear melt into a pile of mud when he was fully away from her.

"I'm not...stopping...until I get Carol back." He growled, Eliza's teachings made him quite simple-minded and direct in his goals.

"All this for what...?" Nadia asked while he readied himself for another round, adjusting his cap. "Everything you say about killing the Medici... Don't paint yourself as a good guy."

Pounding the brush's head into the ground, Naruto swung it back up, his body moving into a classic batter pose as he braced the brush against his shoulders, "A friend of mine was taken from me right before my eyes. I will make it up to her for such a mistake by finding and destroying everything and everyone who took her away." With Bastet wrapping around his body protectively, he held Sobek and spun it around him, ink flying up and dotting the scroll's length with fresh writing, "If you get in my way... Well, my mother taught me how to deal with problems like that."

Nadia got him, "Not bad, you're not bad at all, kid. Why are you even trying to use Minette as bait? You sure you want to fight me just to get back at whoever took your friend?"

"I'll do anything to help and save Carol, nothing else." Naruto replied sternly.

"Sorry, but you're not risking Minette." Nadia replied with her eyes growing serious...then fell to her knees! "Oh no..." she realized with horror that her body had problems moving, "Why...why am I so heavy!?" Her question was laced with fear which gave way to horrified realization at the sight of a note.

"A weight seal, it helps a lot training..." Naruto said slowly as he held his brush like a samurai would a sword. Both hands beside his head, legs spread, the tip aimed forward and the weapon parallel to the ground, "Ora!" When he swung it forward, a soccer ball sized wad of ink was sent flying as fast as possible, the force it generated was akin to the pressurized burst from a firehose.

It whacked into Nadia's face and sent her flying into a pile of crates, completely knocked out cold, "NADIA!" Minette shrieked in terror.

"She's out." Naruto joked and turned to the waitress. "And you can come quietly. I don't want to force you, but I've waited long enough to see Carol."

"Wait! TIME!" Nadia yelled, surprising him when she stumbled out of the debris only to fall on her knees out of breath, "Look, kid, I'm not unsympathetic to your desires, but I'm not going to let you use Minette as bait. If you let her live her life peacefully, I'll let you use me as bait instead." She pleaded with an elbow and a hand propping her up.

He rose an eyebrow, looking at Minette and the surprised look on her face, "What will make you a better lure for those I'm after?"

She gave him a cheeky look, regardless of the slowly healing bruises and her ragged breathing, "I've got something beyond the usual nine lives, kitten! I've got something the Medici will do anything to get back. You leave Minette alone, you'll get what you're after."

He stared at her, his mind racing from thought to thought, calculating the risks, the potential benefits, and the problems involved with doing as she asked. As a fan of baseball, he was big on math since it helped him align himself perfectly to the tune of the field and let him enjoy it fully. It also let him win bets made on the game with a near hundred percent accuracy rating. Also, two mothers who wanted the best for him.

"Alright, say I believe you and we do this your way." he was no fool, "What can you do to help me find the one I want to save by luring out the Medici?"

"This..." Nadia reached into her stomach, dug her claws in, and ripped her chest open to reveal...a gem. Not any gem, its glowing crimson light kept her alive and vanished her wounds.

"The Life Gem...!" he heard Beth speak from inside Bastet, "And here I thought she'd be another one of those Anti-Skullgirl experiments..."

"Perfect bait." Becker elaborated from inside Sobek.

Nadia grew nervous by his silence, "Hey, what're you waiting for? Are you going to take my offer or not?"

"Ah, now I recall... I heard of that item." Naruto told her softly and leaned forward, "I was never told it could do such a thing, but now you have your use."

"Will you let Minette go?" Nadia asked seriously.

"So long as our little bizarre adventure is a step forward to finding Carol." Naruto replied and kneeled in front of her, "So don't try anything funny."

"You're the worst date I've ever had." Nadia growled.

**-0-**

Outside the restaurant and at the limousine, Nadia received one question, "Comfortable?" Becker asked the cat girl in the trunk.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing treating me like your smelly gym bag!?" Nadia roared with tight bindings locking her in place as well as a couple more weighted seals.

"Just wait until we get to their main playroom." Naruto retorted as Beth closed the trunk.

"Young master, you do know the mistress will be displeased knowing you're going to such an..." his feline secretary started, pushing up her glasses with distaste on her face.

Perfectly imitating Beth's voice, Naruto ended her sentence for her, "An abhorrent waste of time with buffoons who waste the little value they amass in life for a thrill..." he returned his voice to normal with a grin which cheekiness was palpable. "No need to remind me. And it's not like I'm going alone with you two at my side."

"Young master..." Beth looked touched while Becker merely gave him a thumb up with a grin.

"Besides, mom's teachings in fuinjutsu are nothing to sneeze at, so we'll be fine." Naruto gave them a soft smile before pushing up his glasses and using his scarf to cover his face and mouth, "Now let's bag ourselves a big fish. And there's no bigger pond in town than this place."

He couldn't help the pun after his fight with Nadia as they reached a large casino, property of the Medici mafia. Naruto was smart enough to change his attire into a simple suit. A simple set with gray pinstripe dress pants and a matching jacket, a red shit with no tie, and his hair slicked backwards. Also, he kept his scarf on. Pushing up his circular glasses, he looked at the glitter of the game tables. No soul at all.

"Ready." Becker said with a nod, the large gator man becoming the magical brush Sobek as Beth became the magical scroll papyrus Bastet.

Upon reaching the entrance, Naruto was greeted by a large man in a suit, clearly a mobster paid to play bouncer, "What're you doing here? This place is reserved for those with invitations." Said the oversized thug with a scowl and a crack of his knuckles. Unfazed, Naruto just moved forward, "Didn't you hear m-" he was silenced once the boy's hand rose up, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Casually, the spectacled blond backhanded the man with one fist, his free hand pushing up his circular glasses, "Silence, please. I have business to attend to." Naruto said as the warrior Eliza molded him to be, with cold eyes and a warm grin as he gripped his servants and tools in the hand adjusting his fake eyesight accessory.

"Master..." Beth started.

Covering his face with his scarf so no trace of it could be seen save for his glasses, he didn't turn as he answered her, "I'm getting her back, one way or another."

Retrieving his hand, he let the body drop with a bloody hole where the nose used to be, "Ah..." a random waiter said as Naruto entered the mafia owned casino with glistening golden everything, tables for games of all kinds, and terrified patrons, girls in sexy bunny suits, and regular staff members.

"Greetings, we've come to talk with the Medici mafia on a deal for information..." he started coolly and walked to sit on a table, "Do not let me waste time talking to some nameless middleman."

"Look it here, someone who needs a lesson in manners," said a girl's voice.

Suddenly, a beauty of a girl waltzed in. Naruto admired her light brown skin and mint-green hair tied up in a sharp ponytail. She had purple eye-shadow as well as matching mint-green lipstick and nail polish. A small purple diamond was tattooed on her left cheek. Her eyes were purple like his mother before her full transformation. And she was almost as nicely stacked. Her outfit befit a performer: a bright orange strapless low-cut mini-dress with an orange and black triangle pattern around her arms, billowing cream sleeves and maroon cuffs, and a black choker. She wore black thigh-length boots with an orange diamond pattern along the length of each one pointed at the ends with a skull sitting each bridge. Her skirt was so short he could see that her underwear was white.

"Good day to you." Naruto said dryly and dully. "I assume you're not just another random moneymaker of the Medici if you're that confident."

"Indeed I am." she replied with a small smirk. "Name's Cerebella, star of the circus in case you've missed my posters, Vitale's best line of defense, and the one taking care of you."

"Do you mind sitting?" Naruto said and motioned to an empty poker table. "It's been a long day and on my end, I just want to discuss information... for a price."

"You've got guts after what you did to one of our guys." she growled.

"I needed to get the point across I'm not here to play." Naruto replied calmly, "Besides, he'll live. Just don't expect him to smell anything without plastic surgery."

As if to confirm his words, the grunt grunted, making Cerebella relax slightly, but her guard was up and her eyes on the boy who may be in her age range, "Awfully considerate of you. What could you want to say? Make it quick, I've got an appointment and don't want to be late."

Pulling out a paper piece from Bastet, he used Sobek to quickly draw a portrait of Nadia Fortune in an Egyptian style, a profile picture, "I believe you want this lady." He handed her the picture once Cerebella took a seat, amazed that he made the drawing in a matter of seconds.

"You... have information on her whereabouts?" she asked cautiously. Then threw caution out the window, "Start talking, what do you want? If it's a date, then you're out of your league."

"Sassy... my mom would like you, not sure about my mother." Naruto jested after acquiring the high ground in the conversation.

"What the... do you know people can only have a mom and dad?" she asked, baffled at the statement.

"It's complicated, but no, I'm not here for you but another girl." Carol had a painting of herself in the same style Nadia got one, "Tell me where she is, and I can get you the cat."

"Bold words for an artist." Cerebella said dryly, "That cat's not an easy target or-"

From his pocket, Naruto pulled out a seemingly random piece of paper and placed it on the table, "Do you need more proof?" he asked and with a yellow flash, Nadia's head appeared on the surface with a shocked, enraged expression. "How's-"

"You dirty, mangy piece of litter, wait till I get my claws on your neck to-" Naruto shoved a handful of cards into her mouth, muffling Nadia's enraged cries.

"How did you-" Cerebella asked in shock, but Naruto merely waved dismissively.

"Doesn't matter." Nadia was gone with another yellow flash, leaving Cerebella to deal with an impatient Naruto, "My answers, now, or you don't get the rest of her, especially that gem your boss is desperate for." He was going to find Carol and he wasn't playing games or wasting time doing so.

"Who are you?" Cerebella had to ask, knowing no normal person could capture the infamous Ms. Fortune.

"A passing by scholar looking for a friend." Naruto softly told her, leaning forward. "Now, my answers."

Cerebella took a deep breath, "Hard to tell... She's not like any girls I see auditioning for our crew." Sadly, the girl was loyal to the Medici by the way of the mafia, i.e. devotion through manipulation. Just like him, a tool. However, the key difference was that Eliza wanted to shape him into her equal. Girls like Cerebella were either trophies, money fountains, hired muscle, or all three in her case.

"Don't play me for a fool." Naruto, however, knew the girl must have seen or known something. "Your fingers are in all dirty pies. There's no way you don't have an idea or hint of where she was taken to. It's not a Medici who took her, so you're bound to have information on who did."

"I..." Cerebella started, before recognizing him, "Wait, I know you. That's right... Why else did Vitale tell me who would be this obsessed with her?"

Groaning inwardly, Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Your point being?"

Cerebella giggled amused and with a cheeky, princess-like gesture of her hand near her face, palm down, "Ohoho... You're that singer's adopted son. Now the two mom scenario makes sense. Vitale said he wanted me to see your boss. However, if you're capable of catching that cat, he should have found you."

"What're you talking about?" Eliza's teachings made him lose his patience.

"That woman got lucky with you." Cerebella said with dark giddiness, "And you're so damn strong and competent. A leech like her-"

Naruto swung Sobek, forgetting everything as his strike which the dusky-skinned bruiser barely dodged split the table in two, "Do. Not. Speak. Ill. Of. Her." Cold venom dripped from his lips as he icily glared at her, a hand pulling down his makeshift scarf-hood and adjusting his glasses.

Cerebella then bit her thumb with a frown, "Damn, handsome and looking good in a suit. That woman really lucked out."

"Hey, do not insult my mother in front of me." Naruto told her, aiming Sobek at her, "Apologize on your hands and knees before I lose my patience."

"You think you can beat me?" Cerebella asked with a cocky smirk as she put on a yellow hat with a skull pin, "Buddy, I am more than a pretty face." With that said, her hat grew arms as large and thick as her body, every inch rippling with muscle as she took a stance. "Let's see if you can handle... this!"

All patrons left in a hurry along the staff, "Run for your lives!" a man said as Cerebella's laughing at Naruto was followed with her arm being cocked back like the hammer of a pistol. When she threw her arm forward, the hat's own arm was sent blasting towards him in a straight which brought a wind funnel with it! Caught in the wind wall, his glasses were nearly flung off, only to be readjusted when he leapt skywards!

Naruto pushed them down slightly with his middle and index fingers held up and gave her a narrow-eyed look, "Okay, no time for warming up." He walked to her, his brush dragging across the ground and leaving a long trail when he ran to her. His heavy steps were like the death knell of the grave, a sign his killing intent was approaching a fever pitch.

When he swung his brush, it came with a shockwave her hat's double fists intercepted, "Not gonna work, handsome!"

Struggling to meet her level of strength, Naruto for the first time realized what it felt for other people to fight Eliza. In a battle of raw strength, the leg-breaker's magical hat Vice Versa was more than a challenge. Which meant lesson number thirty-four came into play. Along with lesson sixty-three. Eliza's rules for combat. Ending at lesson one hundred.

Rule thirty-four was simple, "If you can't outmuscle them, outsmart them!" he let go of Sobek, adjusting his grip and sliding over her arm, smoothly adjusting himself to be right next to her.

Cerebella turned her head, her eyes widening when he swung the brush around in an arc and clonked her in the knee with the golden handle, "OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!"

The dusky-skinned beauty jumped up and down, holding said knee as it throbbed with agonizing pain. She ripped her focus from her agonized knee and saw him line circle her while still dragging the brush on the ground. Her hat grabbed Sobek with both fists, pulling him in, only to get his shins impacting her stomach in a one-two kick which sent her flying back! She landed on her feet groaning and held her sore tummy. Her attention was brought back to the fact he had let go of his brush. Confused, the circus girl looked around until she realized what happened. His brush changed into a gigantic crocodile man who walloped her in the face with his tail. The scale-bound piece of pure flesh, muscle, and power sent her flying back painfully.

"Rule 63 mom taught me! If you have help, abuse it! Beth!" throwing the scroll out, it warped into Beth's body, the cat-woman flying into a brutal onslaught with both claws slicing down and sending a combined air-wave of cutting force at Cerebella! Forced to dodge back, the acrobat found that Beth was far from dissuaded from attacking and came right back towards her through the air wave!

"The h-hell!? How is a woman so strong!?" she asked, straining to get Beth away from her.

The cat woman narrowed her eyes fiercely, "Because… I DRINK A LOT OF MILK! And when the young master is in danger, this cat becomes a lioness!" Indeed, her fur was on end, and if one paid close attention, not only were her claws out and gripping Vice Versa's fists tightly, but her eyes had turned a furious red from bloodlust and rage.

"Get the hell back!" Cerebella had enough, and stepping away quickly, she used Naruto's own trick against his servants.

Moving sidelong next to Beth, her leg whipped to her, a blade popping out of the heel and nearly clipping the cat woman's whiskers a few inches shorter. The woman changed into a papyrus scroll, returning to Naruto's grip, while he squatted on the floor, tracing lines with his fingers while Becker got in the action. The crocodile man grabbed Cerebella from behind in a bearhug and threw his entire body back in a suplex! Smashing her head first against the ground, he moved with the wrestling throw, rolling over Cerebella's back to stomp her with both feet. She rolled forward, hopping back onto her legs, although a bit unsteadily.

"S-seriously!? How…are…you…this…strong!?" Cerebella spat out, looking groggy from the three-way onslaught of master and servants.

Becker was normally quiet but for once more than willing to speak up, "Master wants to find someone he deeply cares about. You're in the way of that goal… Step aside!"

"Screw that noise!" She responded, the crocodile man exhaled, and got serious.

Such action shocked the papyrus scroll which manifested an image of Beth's face through the paper, it talked and moved accordingly, "Becker!? Are you really-"

"If it's for the master, then yes. I will. Enough playing around with this mafia thug. Let's show her who the once and future king will be!" He tore off his tie and then his shirt, revealing the eight pack of yellow scales he had and the pure muscle underneath. Broad backed, broad shoulders, built like a tank, he not only walked _like one_ he hit like one too!

"So, you took your shirt off, big deal! This isn't like the Dragon Empire mafia, doing that doesn't make you stronger!" Cerebella mocked the gesture. Kicking the ground, she spun her upper body around, using the helicopter motion of her movement to gain torque and send herself grinding the ground up with her fists wind-milling!

"GET! BACK!" Becker responded appropriately, both arms thrown up in what was called a peek-a-boo guard, his fists pressed against the other in a shield with the forelimbs blocking the path to the head. The mixture of offense and defense didn't just stop her attack, it brought it to a screeching halt!

And allowed someone else to sneak behind her, "That's your third try, you're out." Naruto mocked her as he held a spiraling orb of crimson energy in his palm.

"Wha-" Cerebella gasped before being blasted with a crimson sphere of rotating chakra impacting her gut, releasing such power the mere contact had her fly through a wall! If not for her hat trying to instinctively take the hit with its arms curled around her, she'd have all her bones broken.

"Rasengan..." Naruto muttered dryly once the hat returned to its compact form. "I hate using my bastard father's technique, but it's useful when my teammates distract others." Then he blinked, "Dammit, mom's getting me to monologue... Becker, Beth, tell mom and mom of our little incident, I'll tell our little jester the news."

"You won't take me alive, bust-" Cerebella started, running...into an invisible wall! "Whoa!" she cried when she bounced back and landed square on her ass, revealing white panties.

"Did you think I'd doodle in the middle of a battle for no reason?" Naruto asked and circled the large seal he made on the ground, keeping his eyes on her face after a small peek at her underwear. "Oh no, we are not going to waste time on you. I've wanted a clue, and you insulted my mother. It almost feels like getting Nadia was a waste of time, almost."

Cerebella clicked her tongue and sat up on her knees, heels on her butt, "I am not talking."

Naruto smirked mockingly at her, "No worries, we planned on going to war with your bosses sooner or later, this just speeds things up."

**-TBC-**

And that's my rap!

I'm slightly mixing up what Eliza's route in the arcade mode with a few others while Naruto remains the main focus. As you can see, he intercepted Cerebella before she could get to meet Eliza. The reason for that is bad writing making this too coincidentally beneficial for the plot to move forward. Name me a story without such a thing happening, be it good or bad. I shall wait, but you won't find one.

Swordslinger out!


End file.
